The New Jerusalem (Wilby)

Last updated

The New Jerusalem is a work for brass band by the British composer Philip Wilby. It was commissioned by the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain, and first performed by them at City Hall, Salisbury in April 1990. [1]

Philip Wilby is a British composer, organist and choir director.

Contents

The work was composed during the collapse of the Eastern Bloc. Wilby saw the Book of Revelation as forcefully reflecting the turbulence and optimism of contemporary political events. The title of the work is thus derived from Revelation 21:1-2, which is quoted at the top of the score: [1]

Eastern Bloc 20th-century group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe

The Eastern Bloc was the group of Communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia and Southeast Asia under the hegemony of the Soviet Union (USSR) during the Cold War (1947–1991) in opposition to the non-Communist Western Bloc. Generally, in Western Europe the term Eastern Bloc comprised the USSR and its East European satellite-states in the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (Comecon); in Asia, the Socialist bloc comprised the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the Lao People's Democratic Republic and the People's Republic of Kampuchea; the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the People's Republic of China ; and in the Americas, the Communist Bloc included the Caribbean Republic of Cuba, since 1961.

Book of Revelation Final book of the New Testament

The Book of Revelation, often called the Revelation to John, the Apocalypse of John, The Revelation, or simply Revelation, the Revelation of Jesus Christ or the Apocalypse, is the final book of the New Testament, and therefore also the final book of the Christian Bible. It occupies a central place in Christian eschatology. Its title is derived from the first word of the text, written in Koine Greek: apokalypsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of Revelation is the only apocalyptic document in the New Testament canon.

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Wilby saw his work as representing "a sure triumph of the human spirit over oppression, a sense of liberty and resurrection drawn out of sorrow and pain". [1] The off-stage solo cornet fanfares and the dynamic nature of the composition as a whole are designed to convey this sentiment. [1]

Contest version

The original version of The New Jerusalem was for a large group of players. Wilby revised the work for a conventional number of brass band musicians and this version was used as the contest piece for the final of the 1992 National Brass Band Championship of Great Britain. The Grimethorpe Colliery Band won the competition with its performance of Wilby's piece not long after Grimethorpe Colliery's closure. [2]

The Grimethorpe Colliery Band is a brass band, based in Grimethorpe, South Yorkshire, England. It was formed in 1917, as a leisure activity for the workers at the colliery, by members of the disbanded Cudworth Colliery Band. It achieved worldwide fame after appearing in the film Brassed Off, and along with the Black Dyke Mills Band, the band became the first to perform at the Proms.

Related Research Articles

And did those feet in ancient time 1808 William Blake poem adapted into a popular English hymn

"And did those feet in ancient time" is a poem by William Blake from the preface to his epic Milton: A Poem in Two Books, one of a collection of writings known as the Prophetic Books. The date of 1804 on the title page is probably when the plates were begun, but the poem was printed c. 1808. Today it is best known as the hymn "Jerusalem", with music written by Sir Hubert Parry in 1916. It is not to be confused with another poem, much longer and larger in scope, but also by Blake, called Jerusalem The Emanation of the Giant Albion.

A British brass band is a musical ensemble comprising a standardized range of brass and percussion instruments. The modern form of the brass band in the United Kingdom dates back to the 19th century, with a vibrant tradition of competition based around communities and local industry, with colliery bands being particularly notable. The Stalybridge Old Band was formed in 1809 and was perhaps the first civilian brass band in the world.

New Jerusalem Place

In the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible, New Jerusalem is Ezekiel's prophetic vision of a city centered on the rebuilt Holy Temple, the Third Temple, to be established in Jerusalem, which would be the capital of the Messianic Kingdom, the meeting place of the twelve tribes of Israel, during the Messianic era. The prophecy is recorded by Ezekiel as having been received on Yom Kippur of the year 3372 of the Hebrew calendar. It will be inhabited by people to live eternally in spirit form, created by God as a gift to mankind. Not everyone will reside in New Jerusalem, as most will possibly stay on Earth.

<i>Brassed Off</i> 1996 film by Mark Herman

Brassed Off is a 1996 British comedy-drama film written and directed by Mark Herman and starring Pete Postlethwaite, Tara Fitzgerald and Ewan McGregor.

Dudley Bright was appointed Principal Trombone of the London Symphony Orchestra in 2001 and retired from that position in June 2018. Prior to that, he held the same position with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Halle Orchestra and before that briefly as an associate with the LSO. He is also Professor of Trombone at the Royal Academy of Music.

The Carlton Main Frickley Colliery Band is a brass band based in West Yorkshire, England, and close to South Yorkshire.

Elgar Howarth British composer

Elgar Howarth, is an English conductor, composer and trumpeter.

<i>Sancta Civitas</i>

Sancta Civitas is an oratorio by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Written between 1923 and 1925, it received its first performance in Oxford in May 1926, during the General Strike. Although its title is in Latin, the libretto is entirely in English, based upon texts from Revelation. The text is drawn from several translations, including Taverner's Bible. Late in life, Vaughan Williams called Sancta the favourite of his choral works.

Brass band musical ensemble generally consisting entirely of brass instruments

A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting entirely of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands, but may more correctly termed military bands, concert bands, or "brass and reed" bands.

James Gourlay is a British conductor and internationally renowned tuba soloist.

Roger Webster English cornetist and psychologist

Roger Webster is an English cornetist and psychologist. He has been acclaimed as one of the world's best ever cornetists. He also teaches performance at the Royal Northern College of Music as well as a weekly lecture on psychology. Webster has played with some of the world's best brass bands.

John Maines is a musician, trombone player and active figure in the British brass band movement as a performer, conductor, tutor, compere and concert presenter.

The Severn Suite, Opus 87, is a musical work written by Sir Edward Elgar. It is a late composition, written in 1930, the result of an invitation to write a test piece for the National Brass Band Championship. It was dedicated to his friend, the author and critic George Bernard Shaw.

Robert Bernat American composer

Robert Bernat was an American composer and the founder, artistic director, and conductorof the River City Brass Band in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His musical influences included his mentor, Aaron Copland, as well as other American composers including Leonard Bernstein, George Gershwin, and John Philip Sousa.

Christopher Bond is a British composer particularly noted for his brass band compositions.

<i>The Last Judgement</i> (Martin paintings) tryptych by John Martin

The Last Judgement is a triptych of oil paintings by the British artist John Martin, created in 1851–1853. The work comprises three separate paintings on a theme of the end of the world, inspired by the Book of Revelation. The paintings, The Plains of Heaven, The Last Judgement, and The Great Day of His Wrath, are generally considered to be among Martin's most important works, and have been described by some art critics as his masterpiece.

Revelation 21 Book of Revelation, chapter 21

Revelation 21 is the twenty-first chapter of the Book of Revelation or the Apocalypse of John in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is traditionally attributed to John the Apostle, but the precise identity of the author remains a point of academic debate.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Wilby, Philip (1992). The New Jerusalem (Study Score). London: Novello 12 0745.
  2. ↑ See external links, accessed 23 January 2012
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.